MANOLO VALDÉS (Valencia, 1942). "Felipe IV",... Lot 78

MANOLO VALDÉS (Valencia, 1942). "Felipe IV", 1984. Oil on canvas. Signed in the lower left corner. Measurements: 130 x 97 cm; 132 x 99 cm (frame). This is an iconic work by Manolo Valdés, the original painting of his avant-garde reinterpretation of the Velázquez portrait of Philip IV. In a process of extreme plastic purification, the ruff and the profile of the monarch are reduced to geometric planes and synthetic lines, as well as the court costume. The character, represented full-length and in the same posture as Velázquez's, holds a letter in his right hand, which Valdés Leal will replace by respective collages in a later series of "Caballeros". Likewise, he will make a second version of this same painting in which he will darken the palette to the maximum ("Felipe IV-II"). In fact, the chromatic reduction is already marked in this first version (black, gray, white and ochre with carmine dots), which gives the figure a spectral intensity. Valdés thus seeks to dissect an archetype loaded with symbolism for being the repository of a long history of representation of power. Valdés never ceased to dialogue with the painting of the past, and over the years (especially since the dissolution of Equipo Crónica) he gained in reflexive refinement and moved away from the brazenness of his first stage. Manolo Valdés introduced in Spain a form of artistic expression that combines political and social commitment with humor and irony. He began his training in 1957, when he entered the San Carlos School of Fine Arts in Valencia. However, two years later he abandoned his studies to devote himself fully to painting. In 1964 he founded the artistic group Equipo Crónica, together with Juan Antonio Toledo and Rafael Solbes, in which he remained until the latter's death in 1981, despite the fact that Toledo had left the group two years after its foundation. Since then he has settled in New York, where he currently resides and where he has continued to experiment with new forms of expression, including sculpture. Among the numerous awards Manolo Valdés has received are the Lissone and Biella of Milan, the silver medal of the II International Biennial of Engravings of Tokyo, the award of the Bridgestone Art Museum in Lisbon, the National Prize of Plastic Arts, the medal of the International Festival of Plastic Artists of Baghdad, the Decoration of the Order of Andres Bello in Venezuela, the award of the National Council of Monaco, the Gold Medal of Merit in Fine Arts, the Award of the Spanish Association of Art Critics and the Best Printmaking Artist Award, among others. Formally, Valdés creates a large format work in which lights and colors express tactile values, due to the treatment given to the materials. His work forces the viewer to delve into memory and search for significant images of the history of art. He is represented in some of the most outstanding museums around the world, such as the Reina Sofía in Madrid, the Metropolitan, the MoMA and the Guggenheim in New York, the Georges Pompidou Center and the Fons National d'Arts Plastiques in Paris, the Kusnthalle in Hamburg, the Kunstmuseum in Berlin and the Museo de Bellas Artes in Bilbao, among many others.